DLA.

[chris54]

You may have read in the papers that, according to the present government, there was a big jump in the number of people claiming DLA in the last year of the previous Governments. They have ordered a immediate review with a view to reducing this number.

I'm in two minds about this, first if there are people getting it who shouldn't be then that is bad for everyone, but then knowing how hard it is to get in the first place one must wonder whats going on. Are they high lighting the few fraudulent claims to justify removing it from genuine claimants.

But then this story was run in one of the red tops so who knows to the accuracy of it.

[baddad]

Hi chris -

How hard it is to get in the first place... Sadly, I don't think it is that hard for those who are willing and able to 'fiddle' the system, and I think there are many, many for whom that would apply. The difficulties more often arise for those who want to accurately represent their child's/their own needs but fall between the cracks or struggle (for whatever reason) to present needs in a way that satisfies the often nit picking criteria.

 

Unfortunately, the resources available to help genuine claimants make sense of the DLA forms is also readily available to the ingenuine ones, and they are further empowered by a sense of self-centred entitlement and lack of any moral scruples together with a degree of cunning that can effectively take 'the system' for the maximum payout every time... So, yes, any new legislation will probably hit those who deserve to be hit least the hardest, while those who are taking the pee will know every loophole there is. Nowts changed there then, just more of the former being disenfranchised while the latter adapt and cultivate an even greater self-centred sense of entitlement to justify their actions.

 

L&P

 

BD

[Enid]

am also in 2 minds about this, I didnt apply for it until DS2, who causes me all the problems,was 13. Then I listed all the many professionals involved with him and someone who knows him but not a family member as required, they never checked any of it, so how do they know I wasnt just making it up?? so that would be how easy it would be, I could apply for it now for my youngest as he has been recently diagnosed but havnt yet, What has surprised me is that as DS2 gets DLA we get into many places at a reduced rate, have only recently found this out! and also get free bus passes, although I havnt applied for this as we never really use them but mainly because if he had a buspass I would never find him when he "goes off on one"!!!! So its a very lucrative thing to have, BUT it does need policing its really open to abuse.

[allafluster]

I am also a parent who did not claim for her son until I realised that I needed to claim DLA to access holiday schemes and courses. The reason I did not claim is that although my son is eligable we have a good income (down to good family childcare). I now claim and the money goes straight to an ISA but I would prefer less people like me being able to claim and those who really need it having more and when my son is an adult having the help then when we may not be in the position we are in now. Dont get me wrong having an austic child is expensive and I am not implying that those parents who need DLA are not entitled.

[Lynden]

I hadn't ever thought about it before till I read BDs bit about wanting to accurately represent your child - I'd always been of the view that I wondered how people could claim fraudulently as I know how hard it is to get DLA if you are properly entitled, but that's because the forms focus on everything your child can't do. For a parent, that's emotionally draining, and one of the most depressing things I find I've had to do, but if you don't have that emotional attachment I suppose it would be a lot easier to fake things and get the money.

 

Same with when I married my hubby, he's American and we had to fill in a helluva lot of paperwork over the first few years to prove that we were a genuine couple so I couldn't get my head round the sham marriages - but where there's a will there's a way!

 

Lynne

[gazmcfaz]

i believe dla is being replaced in a couple of years time with personal independence payment, as a way for government to bring down the cost of paying out by not giving out as much to those who dont appear to need it, ie, ones with hidden disabilities, aspergers, moderate autism/ ocd etc, which of course is completely backwards, because the need for that help is still there, it just isnt as obvious. I think they dont care about how hard it is to get dla in the first place or if people cant claim this new one, its all about bringing costs down. I have emailed my local mp about this. What are your thoughts on the whole system being revamped?

[chris54]

I suppose if you are prepared to lie and if no one is checking then its easy to get DLA.

I would agree that it is hard having to focus on all the negatives.

 

For people who have no direct experience of Autism, it must be (is) hard to appreciate just how disabling it can be for some. I'm sure we all have a relative somewhere who thinks "give a good smack, that will sort them out". Only the other day I was in discussion with someone who disagreed with money being spent on special schools for Autistic children. Its only "Naughty Child Syndrome". When this view is held by someone in authority!!??. You just get so angry. But I digress.

[baddad]

Its only "Naughty Child Syndrome". When this view is held by someone in authority!!??. You just get so angry. But I digress.

 

 

Seems to me that at the HF / AS end of the spectrum that's increasingly what it's coming to mean - a fairly casual diagnosis on the basis of the presentation of a few 'traits' (very subjectively applied), and an underlying assumption that any 'naughty' behaviour can be/ has to be ascribed to the condition. Welcome to 21st Century autism - it's the new ADHD! (Which of course was in it's time the new Dyslexia!)... Can't blame the wider community for the conclusions they draw from the models of autistic children they're offered by the 'the experts' and many of the parents/carers representing those children, can we?

 

And to digress further - pretty much the same appplies to 'aspie-rational' adults and geek-chic gurus acquiring the diagnosis retrospectively or casually from similarly flimsy and subjective assessments.

 

Can't help feeling we're creating - and being steered towards creating - a very VERY big smokescreen, and I can't help but wonder what exactly that smokescreen is hiding, and what it's really going to mean further down the line

 

I just get so angry. But I digress...

 

L&P

 

BD

[Lynden]

I agree with you BD, I do think there is an element of over-diagnosis going on at the moment, especially with regard to being diagnosed with 'autistic traits'.

 

Increasingly I see on parenting forums that children as young as 2 and 3 are getting aspergers and HFA diagnosis. Given that it is supposed to be at the higher functioning end of the scale, how can you possibly tell if a child has aspergers at 2-3 or if they are just being a normal todder?

 

Don't get me wrong, I think early diagnosis is very important, indeed we got our diagnosis when L was 2 and 2 months but he was/is severely autistic and there was no doubt then, or now about his diagnosis.

 

I think awareness and understanding are so important, and I am glad that diagnostic procedures mean that more children/adults are identified as having autism and being able to access help, but the I share your concerns that it is a worrying road we are going down.

[RainbowsButterflies]

*

Edited June 9, 2011 by RainbowsButterflies

[RainbowsButterflies]

Increasingly I see on parenting forums that children as young as 2 and 3 are getting aspergers and HFA diagnosis. Given that it is supposed to be at the higher functioning end of the scale, how can you possibly tell if a child has aspergers at 2-3 or if they are just being a normal todder?

 

By definition, a 2 or 3 year old with HFA would show significant speech delay.

 

 

I can only speak for my daughter, but in her case I had significant concerns from the age of 2 3/4 that her behaviour was different to that of a normal toddler in terms of - inability to express what has upset her (in fact going from a very articulate child to non-verbal), sensitivity to noise, pedantic use of language, 'right' way to do things, unusual avoidance strategies (e.g. I can't pick the toys up because my arms have stopped working). I don't expect miracles from her in terms of road safety - she is only 3, but her safety awareness is getting worse. She is running away more - so much so that I have had to reintroduce reins. Each thing taken in isolation could be viewed as normal toddler behaviour, but it is the intensity and frequency of the behaviours, as well as viewing them as a whole that makes it clear that it is not normal.

[Lynden]

By definition, a 2 or 3 year old with HFA would show significant speech delay.

 

 

I can only speak for my daughter, but in her case I had significant concerns from the age of 2 3/4 that her behaviour was different to that of a normal toddler in terms of - inability to express what has upset her (in fact going from a very articulate child to non-verbal), sensitivity to noise, pedantic use of language, 'right' way to do things, unusual avoidance strategies (e.g. I can't pick the toys up because my arms have stopped working). I don't expect miracles from her in terms of road safety - she is only 3, but her safety awareness is getting worse. She is running away more - so much so that I have had to reintroduce reins. Each thing taken in isolation could be viewed as normal toddler behaviour, but it is the intensity and frequency of the behaviours, as well as viewing them as a whole that makes it clear that it is not normal.

 

Sorry - my views on it aren't as cut and dry as my original post made it sound. I don't doubt that many of the children will and should have an ASD diagnosis. The language delay is a good point with regard to HFA. However, a significant speech delay doesn't always indicate autism. I don't see anything wrong with asking questions or starting the diagnostic process at that stage, I just am not convinced that some of the aspergers diagnosis, more so on one specific parenting forum, that I read about age 2-3 wont be overturned at some point in the future. I think by 4-5 it's easier to make a clear diagnosis.